Artwork & Inspiration — Aimee Joyaux

red rover red rover

The world is heating up. These works on canvas explore an exaggerated visual response to the combative and imposing rhetoric blasting from all sides. My thoughts here explode on the page like rolling dice that hit the wall. Bright colors and graphic shapes crash into the picture plane. Half glasses of water, the shells of building, and shape shifting folds are drawn to characterize a sense of displacement like a reactionary free fall in a tumultuous time.

Square paintings are 31” x 31”, pink rectangles are 30” x 36”, white rectangle is 31” x 25”.

Acrylic, oil, shellac, oil sticks, pastels, pencil on canvas. 2017-18

City Lots

City Lots

There is a particular collective memory in the South, one haunted by God. A stubborn pride controls a narrative of cultural patrimony in a visible process where an enduring white memory and black resistance to it clash with renewed vengeance heightened by social media.

This work borrows from that vernacular to challenge notions of race and privilege. City Lots is the second in a group of mixed media drawing projects using found objects to explore the political struggle for power and identity that favors whites over blacks.

Taunts to “speak for yourself”, “practice sorting faces”, and “#UB2” challenge the viewer to reconcile disparate truths. Pitting slave songs “call & response” against children’s games “finders keepers” illuminates power and privilege.

Bright colors and graphic shapes crash into the picture plane. Turned over cars, the shells of building, half glasses of water, and scattered chess pieces are drawn to characterize a sense of displacement, a reactionary free fall in a tumultuous time.

The color line of today is as apparent as it ever was. Unfortunately, it is expanding. A more inclusive swath of“otherness” encroaches on ideals of white supremacy and warns that everybody’s troubles are coming by threes and by twos.

These images were made in 2016/17 and measure 18" x 24" each.

sketches

These mixed media works from 2018 are part of my process for working out ideas, colors and shapes for larger paintings. They are made on mat board scraps using shellac, oil stick, conte crayons, and colored pencils. Square images are 12” x 12” and rectangles are 15” x 11.5”.

The Box Project

The Box Project

The Box Project uses chipboard boxes, the color of paper bags, to explore the narrative surrounding African American skin color. It draws intentionally from the story of Henry “Box” Brown, a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate to abolitionists in Philadelphia.

Also implied in the work is the paper bag test, a type of racial discrimination practiced in the United States. A brown paper bag was used as a way to determine whether or not an individual could have certain privileges; only individuals with a skin color that is the same color or lighter than a brown paper bag were allowed the advantages of their light skinned brethren. The test was used in the 20th century within many social institutions such as African-American sororities, fraternities, and churches. In addition, brown paper bags were used in multi-racial social events. The term is also used in reference to larger issues of class and social stratification within the African-American population.

Issues of race and color are further complicated with the immigration debate as we expand ideas of other and a populist rage with overt edges of white supremacy and renewed interest in re/segregation are taking hold of the public consciousness. Designed as an installation and performance about power and those without it, The Box Project confronts the viewer and the maker with questions about complicity and the walls with which we surround ourselves.

The Box Project, performance + installation, 2015

I can't breathe

Eric Garner made this statement famous in 2014 with his last gasping statement to police who were choking him based on a perceived threat. The treat it seemed or the source of fear for the officers was his blackness. The hashtag has gone on to mean many things.

In this group of posters, I’ve printed the statement over and over again on a set of paper colored in the mix of the rainbow. Gasping, choking, withholding, panic, fear and despair can keep us frozen, unable to breathe for countless reasons - asthma, poisonous air, anxiety, or in Eric Garner’s case, because someone is literally and physically choking you.

These posters are in progress, letterpress on paper, 28” x 22, 2019

the homestead act

I continue to be baffled by the white nationalist agenda which positions people of color as separate but not equal. The Mason jar stands in as a black body here as I explore the diaspora. Shellac, oil stick, conte crayon, oil pastel, colored pencil on mat board. Squares 12” x 12”, rectangles 15” x 11.5”, 2018

curriculum lab & sketchbook project

The Curriculum Lab was a collaboration spearheaded by JLee in 2017. Ten artist were each given 20 discarded library cards with which to work. The only rule - we couldn't make our final pieces larger than the original card (these images were taken before I cropped and completed my cards). One pice from each artist went into a larger grid - grids are for sale and all proceeds go to the Early Literacy through the Arts program. I was able to get cards related to my current inquiry around race in America, the roots of slavery, the dark middle passage, and genocide.

The sketchbook project is a "thing". It's like the Monster Drawing Rally - a performance / event / exhibition. You buy an empty book, fill it, send it back to Brooklyn and they keep it in a travelling library. They also digitize the books.

My book was in response to the Sandy Hook School shooting in 2012. There were just enough pages to "memorialize" all 27 victims, whom I have identified by name and age here.

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tarpaperpress

Lady Liberty in Distress

Triggered by the increasing polarity of the political discourse and inspired by the Women’s March on Washington, I began a series of protest posters shortly after the election. The primary symbolism in this work is the Statue of Liberty.

A universal symbol of freedom and an emblem of friendship between two nations, Lady Liberty was conceived and designed to enlighten the world. She is considered the Mother of Exiles, greeting millions of immigrants and embodying hope and opportunity for those seeking a better life in America.

Times have changed. This work borrows the notion of upside down flags as symbols of distress or protest against the government. Here, Lady Liberty crashes into the picture plane from multiple angles and is frequently inverted. Scattered text and image is designed to characterize a sense of displacement, a reactionary free fall in a tumultuous time.

The graphic qualities and aesthetic range of printmaking lend this work a visual cohesion within the vernacular of traditional poster design. Freedom of the press has been a benchmark of our democracy and I use that freedom here to express confusion and concern about issues of cultural patrimony, equity, and human rights.

Why Can't We Act Presidential

letterpress on hand screened wall paper 36" x 40", 2018

Inspired by games, reflecting the learning that happens on the streets, seeped in conflict and competition, the race wars rage on.

I can't bring myself to say #neveragain

Friendly reminder

Stubborn Pride, letterpress on hand printed paper, 23" x 28", 2014

Money Talks

painting + drawing

Much of my current work is a response to a heightened sense of impermanence and the associated anxiety stemming from displacements and the looming threat of extinction and erasure.

Drawing is the fastest way for me to pursue an individual critical inquiry and to address a communal culpability. Marks are like self-portraits or reflections of a personal, internal state, a way of bearing witness to the conversations that dare to suggest we are complicit in the effects of industry and human behavior on habitat.

One Ton Prop

from the series, Red Rover (Red Rover), shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

Train Stations, Cemeteries, Stadiums

from the series, Red Rover (Red Rover), shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

Half Empty

from the series, Red Rover (Red Rover), shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

Planes, Boats & Buildings

from the series, Red Rover (Red Rover), shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

Permeable, Porous, Inside/Out

from the series, Red Rover (Red Rover), shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

Shells & Fragments

from the series, Red Rover (Red Rover), shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

from the series Red Rover (Red Rover)

shellac, oil stick, oil pastel on rag paper, 48" x 48", 2017

green jar

oil stick, crayon, pencil on paper, 30" x 24", 2016

Sticky Bombs, mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2014

Black Box

30” x 24” oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Water Tower

30” x 24” oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Comets, mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2015

Mercury

30” x 24” oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Brown Book

oil stick, crayon, pencil on paper, 30" x 24", 2016

yellow jar

oil stick, crayon, pencil on paper, 30" x 24", 2016

Red Hourglass

30” x 24” oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Comet

17.5 x 15.5”, oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

The King Died

17.5 x 15.5”, oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Pearl

17.5 x 15.5”, oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Head Stand

17.5 x 15.5”, oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

Passers By

17.5 x 15.5”, oil stick, colored pencil, crayon on paper, 2016

green, grey, red, mixed media on canvas, 42" x 54", 2015

yellow, yellow, green, red, mixed media on canvas, 42" x 54", 2015

red, green, red, mixed media on canvas, 42" x 54", 2015

orange, orange, green, mixed media on canvas, 42" x 54", 2015

blue, 42" x 54", mixed media on canvas, 2015

Mind/Mined, ink, oil, encaustic on paper, 15.5" x 7.25", 2015

Mind Racing, ink, oil, encaustic on paper, 15.5" x 7.25", 2015

Head Stand, ink, oil, encaustic on paper, 15.5" x 7.25", 2015

The Melting Point of Ice, oil on canvas, 31" x 25", 2015

West Side

mixed media on paper, 40" x 40", 2014

East Side

mixed media on paper, 40" x 40", 2014

Knock Kneed

mixed media on paper, 46" x 36", 2013

Bones, Blood, Butter

mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2014

Gag Law

mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2014

Natural Disasters, a partial list

mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2014

Por favor

mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2014

Orphans

mixed media on paper, 30" x 24", 2014

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2015

Test Tubes

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Startled, Starteld, Starteled

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Rising Tides

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Landlock

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Stand Your Ground

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Floats and Bueys

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Molecules (hot and cold)

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Natural Disasters

mixed media on tar paper, 16" x 16", 2014

Uprooted

mixed media on paper, 6' x 3', 2013

American Experience

mixed media on paper, 6' x 3', 2013

Air Lock

house paint, tar paper, 36" x 14", 2000

Insights

house paint, tar paper, 36" x 16", 2000

Drift / Float / Draw / Swim

house paint, tar paper, 34" x 18", 2000

Balloons

mixed media, tar paper, 36" x 16", 2000

Garden

mixed media, tar paper, 36" x 16", 2000

Glass Ceiling

mixed media on tar paper, 36" x 24", 2002

Blind Love

oil on panel, 30" x 30" x 4", 2000

burning bridges

This group of work was made between 2007 and 2008. All paintings are oil on canvas and are in response to environmental and political pinch points including increased surveillance / decreased personal privacy, climate change, and on-going military conflict throughout the world. Formally, I am pushing color and space in this work in new ways. I had been without a studio for five years at this point, so I dug right in.

Event Horizon, oil on canvas, 45" x 34", 2008

Incidental Implications, oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

Internal Combustion, oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

Shifting Sights / Sites / Cites, oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

On Polemics and Speculation (Transfer and Exchange), oil on canvas, 45" x 34", 2008

Arrested Movement (Trap Plays), oil on canvas, 45" x 34", 2008

Half Lives and Half Truths (Overtones and Undertows), oil on canvas, 45" x 34", 2008

Hot Plate, a Parable of Speed, oil on canvas, 45" x 34", 2008

(Sipping at) 1000 Straws, oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

My Mind = King Kong (I Keep it Locked Up Most of the Time and Bite My Nails), oil on canvas, 45" x 34", 2008

Shadow of a Doubt (Le Supplice / La Question), oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

Motive and Opportunity (The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered In),oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

No Single Raindrop (Believes it is to Blame for the Flood), oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

Echo to Echo (Silent Alarm), oil on canvas, 34" x 45", 2008

Shanty Towns

oil on canvas, 40" x 24", 2013

objects found + made

I am a collector. DIY culture has had a positive influence on the way I think about process and product. The prototype culture of today suits my visual and conceptual sensibilities.

Life boats and blocks, church ladies - things I see. Birds (the canaries in the coal mine). Water, the currency of the 21st c., and wonky buildings, capitalism in tattered repose. Wrapping and stacking, objects found and made.

Waves (ocean), pine, milk paint, 2012-13, installation dimensions vary (each wave approx. 36" - 42" x 6")

Waves (river), pine, milk paint, 2012-13, installation dimensions vary (each wave approx. 36" - 42" x 6")

Prop, pine, dimensions vary, 2010

Assisted Living, pine, dimensions vary, 2010

Birds of North America, fabric, steel, copper, (2 of 8), 4' x 12" x 2.5', 2012

Shore Birds, fabric, wire, steel, wood, approx. 20" x 16" x 6", 2011-13

Botonist, dried plants, antique paper, lead, 2.5" x 4", 2005-2010

Botonist (list), dried plants, antique paper, lead, 2.5" x 4", 2005-2010

World Banks, (installation Gallery 5, Richmond, VA), papier mache, wire, wood, steel, sizes vary, 2010

World Banks, Installation Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA 2011

World Banks, papier mache, wire, wood, steel, sizes vary, 2010

Installation Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA 2011

Wall mounted block, mixed media on wood, 18.5" x 18.5" x 18.5", http://www.artspacegallery.org/artroulette/

This Belongs to You and Me, wooden blocks, 3"x3"x3", mixed media, 2007

decorative blocks, dimensions vary 2014

decorative blocks (set of nine), 3" x 3" X 3", 2012

decorative blocks, 3" x 3" X 3", 2014

Church Lady, wood, fabric, found objects, 10" x 4" x 2", 2012

Life Boats, high fire / wood fire stoneware, 4" x 8" x 2", 2014

The Ski is Blue and so is the Sea, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

Life Boat, high fire / wood fire stoneware, 6" x 8" x 12", 2014

The Ski is Blue and so is the Sea, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

Life Boats, high fire / wood fire stoneware, 4" x 8" x 2", 2014

The Ski is Blue and so is the Sea, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

Life Boats, high fire / wood fire stoneware, 6" x 9" x 3", 2014

The Ski is Blue and so is the Sea, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

Trees and Tops, toned silver print, steel, wood, found objects, 2002

Tower, Tops, flowers and prop, copper, wood, found objects, 2000

Mitchell Place Gallery, Muncie, IN

Loose Ends, Silver prints, sculpture, drawing, 2001

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI

memento mori

Photography is a potent form of bearing witness. The fleeting nature of life can be captured by the camera and expressed in the print. I push the boundaries between the fact of the photograph as object and the way process can reimagine the image and subvert the subject.

The postmodern disruption of representation and new technologies further splinter the role of the photograph. I'm fascinated with this philosophical debate as it unfolds in front of us.

Pere La Chaise

C-Print, 19" x 19", 2000

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Habitat (series)

toned silver print, 11" x 14", 2001

Bundle

silver print, 11" x 14", 1996

Gathering Dust

toned silver print, 11" x 14" (unframed), 1995

Gather

toned silver print, 11" x 14" (unframed), 1995

Brancusi's Studio

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Brancusi's Studio 2

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Brancusi's Studio

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Totem 2

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Totem 1

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Totem 3

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Wire 2

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Wire 3

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

Wire 1

toned silver print, 16" x 20", 2000

my dear darling

Sometimes pictures are better than words. I make postcards and small books for friends and family to celebrate or acknowledge a difficult situation or spread some love. I also write fan letters.

My mother was in the convent before she got married (and had 7 kids). My catholic upbringing continues to . . . influence me. collage on book cover, 1999

13 Notes

liquid light, collage, letterpress, 11" x 15", 1995

digital illustration, 8" x 10", 1998

Collage on book cover, 1999

Birthday book, collage. 2012

Birthday book, 2012

Edition postcard project, 1/30. Letterpress, encaustic, mixed media, 2001

Edition postcard project, 1/10. Polaroid, letterpress, 2002

Birthday book, mixed media, collage - 2011

Birthday book, mixed media, collage - 2012

Birthday book, mixed media, collage - 2013

Swarms

mixed media on paper, 6" x 12", 2013

narrative forms

I love stories and I love to work with my hands, so making books felt like a perfect fit immediately. I can sew, fold, cut, paste, draw, print, paint, build. I can be tidy and precise or sloppy. It's the perfect art form.

Bookmaking is like a quilting bee - it can be a very social activity, but is also deeply personal. I have told some secrets in these books.

By The Time You Reach a Certain Age

An Alphabet Book, 1996 - 98

digital, collage, letterpress, bound in ledger

The Uncertainty Principle

accordion fold book -etchings, aquatints, steel covers, 11" x 9", 2000

Hindsight

cast glass, gold leaf, 10" x 22" each, 1999

Partially Buried

Artist book, letterpress, silver gelatin contact prints, edition of 11, 6" x 4", 1999

Said / Unsaid

artist book, letterpress, drypoint, zinc covers, 9" x 11", edition of 4, 1999

Priceless Pearls

A Thrilling Game | A Wreck, altered book, 6" x 10", 1998

Two Words

Loaded Dice, altered books, 6" x 14", 1998

When the Tide Turned

altered book (all text except stage directions whited out), 9" x 7", 1998

Good & Bad Days

mixed media on paper, 8" x 20", 2005

Papercut

mixed media on paper, 8" x 20", 2005

Instead of a Forward

artist book, letterpress, drypoint, zinc covers, 9" x 11", edition of 4, 1999

vanishing petersburg

These images were taken between 2006-07. Wandering the neighborhoods around my new town, I was struck by the beauty and loneliness of these empty houses. One house in particular moved me, 333 Mistletoe St. and I returned several times to photograph it. One day, it was gone and I began photographing other empty lots. Some of these houses have been reclaimed, some are falling further into disrepair and many have been demolished. Entire neighborhoods are beginning to disappear.

328 Hurt St.

213/215 Henry St.

S. Dunlop / W. Washington

601/603 Greslett St.

602 Harrison St.

605/607 Plum St.

624/626 Harding St.

827 W. High St.

841 Rome St.

923 Diamond St.

933 W. High St.

935 Hinton St.

1026 Bolling St.

1115/1117 W. High St.

Pocahontas Island

S. Crater Rd. (PG Co. line)

3 Centre Hill

5 Centre Hill

22 Corling St.

26 Liberty St.

30 Liberty St.

31 West St.

34 Filmore St.

114 Chappell St.

124 West St.

125 N. Jefferson St.

126 Jefferson St.

137 N. Jefferson St.

150 Virginia Ave.

208 West St.

213 Wittens St.

221/223 Jones St.

228/230 Mercer St.

237 Mercer St.

301 Jefferson St.

302/304 West St.

308/310 West St.

309/311 Hinton St.

323 Hinton St.

327 Porterville St.

329 St. Andrews St.

333 Farmers St.

403 St. Andrews St.

421 Grove Ave.

403/405 Harding St.

431 Adams St.

423 Grove Ave.

531 Grove Ave.

434 Cross St.

455 Harrison St.

Harrison / Porterville Sts.

541/543 W. Washington St.

531 St. Mark St.

333 Mistletoe St.

418 Harrison St.

558 Hinton St.

609 Hinton St.

699 Hinton St.

710 Stark St.

833/835 W. Washington St.

1408 Ferndale St.

japan

In May of 2018 I had a wonderful adventure visiting my friend Quynh in Japan. She was finishing a project at Kamiyama A.I.R., an artist residency program in Kamiyama on the island of Shikoku. We spent a week there among the farmers and their rice fields and then enjoyed a safari of shrines and temples in Kyoto before finishing the trip in the bustling town of Tokyo.

At every juncture I was awed by the craft culture, food, and attention to the seasonal bounty and nuance of the land. It was an inspiring trip and I hope to return. The last images are my sketches and prints, many on book pages I got in thrift stores. I will finalize my reflections over the next few months and consider using them in an application for my own residency, hopefully at the Awagami paper factory.

house parts

I learned digital photography when I moved to Petersburg, needed a job and worked for our local newspaper. I used every bit of knowledge I had about the camera, the subject, and light to capture city council meetings, sporting events, carnivals, school plays, graduation ceremonies, car accidents - you name it. 900 pictures a day, whew. It was a great way to learn the city (and the new photography), but grueling work.

The iphone has been a significant contribution to my creative process. A mobile art studio that fits in my pocket and connects me to the entire globe, crazy.

dye sublimation print, 3.5" x 3.5", 2012

Public Art Petersburg

Petersburg is a special place with an amazing history. We are committed to this community and were really pleased to be able to bring the fantastic project started by Candy Chang - Before I Die, to our town.

I also beg, borrow, and steal other cool projects from the incredible talent in Richmond, so we were fortunate to get some of their extra LOVE letters recently!

I See Myself

As a grad student studying photography in the 90's, nude self portraits seemed to be de rigueur. As a young feminist, reclaiming my body as subject and object was an intellectual exercise as well as an artistic statement. As a person, it felt risky.

Earth / Bound, 7" x 5" silver print, Polaroid negative, 1994

American Beauty, 7" x 5" silver print, Polaroid negative, 1993, courtesy The Museum of Fine Arts Houston

American Beauty, 7" x 5" silver print, Polaroid negative, 1994

American Beauty, 5" x 7" silver print, Polaroid negative, 1993

Strip / Uncover, 5" x 7" silver print, Polaroid negative, 1994

Stand Your Ground, 7" x 5" silver print, Polaroid negative, 2000

Wave After Wave, 7" x 5" silver print, Polaroid negative, 2000

Run, 5" x 7" silver print, Polaroid negative, 2000

Woman As (Bridge), silver print, paint, 11" x 14", 1993

Woman As (Bust), silver print, paint, 14" x 11", 1993

Flash, dye sublimation print, 5" x 3.5", 2012

monster drawing rally

The monster drawing rally is an awesome community event / fundraiser put on by 1708 Gallery in Richmond. One part performance, ± 20 artists working in hour-long shifts (3-4 shifts); one part sweat-shop - all work made is sold for a fixed price ($60) and there is an admission fee - so, two parts fundraiser. It brings a lot of folks out, families wander back and forth, it's engaging for everyone. It brings the process of art alive and makes a little money for the gallery - win, win, win.

MDR is a unique way to think about "drawing"; an hour in front of a flock of flaneurs. So, I always plan ahead and come prepared to create a series; quick notes or nods to something.

Non-Representational

12" x 15", mixed media on paper, 2011

#citylots#tobigtofail

#citylots#fake

#citylots#halffull

#citylots #isaymyname

#citylots #lies

the box project, monster drawing rally, 2014

the box project, 11.5 x 7.5 x 4.75, 2014

the box project, monster drawing rally, 2014

Ochre

12" x 15", mixed media on paper, 2011

Startled

12" x 15", mixed media on paper, 2011

Early Enlightenment

12" x 15", mixed media on paper, 2011

Arrowheads

12" x 15", mixed media on paper, 2011

Tom, Dick, and Harry

12" x 15", mixed media on paper, 2011

Art First Aid

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Mad as a Brush

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Art & Artifact

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Tough Guy Stuff

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Orange Cross

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Paprika

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Whiplash

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

Equal

collage, pastel, 8" x 10", 2013

The Truth of the Text

1/6, oil pencils, 12" x 15", 2012

The Truth of the Text

2/6, oil pencils, 12" x 15", 2012

The Truth of the Text

3/6, oil pencils, 12" x 15", 2012

The Truth of the Text

4/6, oil pencils, 12" x 15", 2012

The Truth of the Text

5/6, oil pencils, 12" x 15", 2012

The Truth of the Text

6/6, oil pencils, 12" x 15", 2012

cornmeal press

I fell in love with letterpress because I fell in love with book making. I fell in love with printmaking in the process.

My letterpress production got a huge infusion when we salvaged hundreds of printing plates from a seed and feed bag company in Richmond in 2011. I also got a proofing press and a few dozen drawers of type. I have more plates than I can ever print - so I started a co-op called cornmealpress, a community print factory.

I'm very interested in small scale, local production (grown close to home) posters and broadsides that explore language and have begun a series on southern pride or stubborn pride (I use them interchangeably) under the name tarpaperpress.

Penland School of Craft workshop results

Press On Propoganda - VCUarts Bowe House Press

Thrilled to have Bowe House Press take advantage of these great plates for tickets and posters for the premiere of the letterpress movie - Press On!

Had a great time printing with the Comm Art students at VCU!

The Itinerant Printer came to the shop and made some great work!

The Itinerant Printer, Chris Fritton, creates beautiful washes by running the paper through the press rollers as part of t=the clean-up process.

Chris works with type shops across the country making imagery from regional collections. Here he adds some CMP iconography to a sheet printed weeks earlier from French cuts.

Students studying graphic design at Longwood had a great day printing!

Cornmeal Press plates stored at home.

Posh RVA, letterpress, rubber stamps, ledger paper, 16 x 20, 2014

Musical Christmas, letterpress, rubber stamps, 9" x 11", 2014

Musical Christmas, letterpress, rubber stamps, 9" x 11", 2014

Shop RVA, letterpress, rubber stamps, ledger paper, 16 x 20, 2014

5 O'Clock Somewhere, letterpress on Atlas Sheets, 11" x 15", 2014

Cornmeal Press one-day workshop at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond - Posters & Broadsides, 2012

A Chicken in Every Plot - Exhibition Poster

A collaboration with Alyssa Salomon.

Printing chicken posters en masse

Dairy Feed, unique print, 16" x 20", 2012

Virginia Clover, unique print, 11" x 14", 2014

Imprint 104, unique print, 9"x12", 2014

tarpaperpress chop, 4"x5", 2014

Half Horse, unique print, 10" x 14", 2014

Superior, unique print, 11" x 14", 2013

Dairy Feed with Triangle, unique print, 20" x 20", 2013

Maria with poster for Old Tavern Kiln Collective - I traded some space in the wood kiln for these posters.

Old Tavern Kiln Collective, unique print, letterpress, 18" x 30", 2014

Grown Close to Home, unique print, letterpress, 18" x 30", 2014

Don't Postpone Joy, letterpress on hand printed wall paper, 24" x 30" (1 of 15), 2014

Joyeux Noel, party invitation, edition of 50, 2011

A Print Harvest - three print shops in two blocks, each venue printed part of the poster - free event with Studio 23, VisArts, and Power & Light Press, 2012

Printing book covers for SOHO - a Space of Her Own, youth mentoring program, 2013

Saucy's Walk-Up, letterpress, 11" x 18", edition of 32, 2012

Bizarre Market, letterpress, 15" x 12", edition of 30, 2013

Free Range Creativity, letterpress, 15" x 12", edition of 60, 2013

Free Range Creativity RVA, Art-O-Mat tokens, 3" x 4" x .5, edition of 45, 2012

posters & cards

Digital design offers a plethora of options. I often do pro bono work for local agencies or friends just to have an excuse to play with software. So many ways to solve problems and no messy clean-up.

Appomattox River Clean-Up, event poster, digital design, 32" x 40", 2006

Appomattox River Clean-Up, event poster, digital design, 32" x 40", 2007

Art:24, event poster, digital design, 2010

Working Places / Living Spaces , event poster, digital design, 2008

Work Places, Living Spaces, event poster, digital design, 16" x 20, 2008

Logo, 2000

Logo, store sign, 2001

Clay Bird, product tag, 1998

You Are Beautiful, letterpress cards. Thousands distributed randomly.

#thesmileproject (and its precursor)

I don’t do much portraiture but I got a great new video app that is inspiring me. Cinematic makes beautiful 6 second videos. I’m asking people to look away from the camera and slowly count to 3 and then slowly smile and look at me. The videos are lovely but there is a moment, a decisive moment, when that smile cracks that I’m lovin’!

Practicing gratitude #thesmileproject

The bottom images were made at Appomattox Regional Governors School in Petersburg, where I taught for four years. I kept a large format camera set up in the classroom as a fun distraction. The kids were always happy to pose. These images were made with outdated Polaroid film, I scanned the "throw-away" side and we used the digital files to explore new media tools.